The invention relates to a disc-record player for optically readable discs and includes a disc-loading mechanism, a housing, a frame, and a turntable which is mounted for rotation in the frame. The loading mechanism comprises a drawer, which is movable in an inward direction and an outward direction through a front opening in the housing for transferring the disc to and removing it from the turntable, respectively, and a pressure member support carrying a pressure member, which support is movable between an operative position for urging the disc against the turntable and a position which is more remote from the turntable.
Such a disc-record player is disclosed in Netherlands Patent Application No. 8302129, to which U.S. Pat. No. 4,672,598 corresponds (herewith incorporated by reference). In principle, the known disc-record player is intended for playing optically readable audio discs of the "Compact-Disc" type. In the known player the drawer carries a vertically movable transfer means for the disc. Further, the drawer comprises two upright side walls, which extend over the entire depth of the drawer and which are formed with a number of first and second grooves or slots which are downwardly inclined viewed in the outward direction. The first grooves are situated near the front and back of the drawer and serve for guiding the transfer means. The second grooves, which are situated between the first grooves, cooperate with laterally projecting pins on the pressure-member support. During the inward and outward movement of the drawer these pins are guided in the second grooves to move the pressure-member support towards and away from the turntable. This has the disadvantage that the upright side walls constitute obstacles when a disc is placed on or removed from the transfer means of the drawer. Therefore, additional steps are necessary to provide better access to the transfer means of the drawer and thereby facilitate loading and removal of a disc. For example, the drawer can be slid out of the housing so far that the disc on the drawer is situated completely outside the housing and is thus better accessible. However, in the fully extended position the drawer occupies a substantial amount of space, which is undesirable an audio-disc player used in a motor car, where the available space is generally limited. In a video-disc player, which uses discs of comparatively large diameter, a fully extended drawer may also give rise to problems. Another possibility of solving the problem outlined above is to increase the width of the drawer, in order to provide enough room between the side walls of the drawer and a disc, so as to enable the disc to be removed by hand. However, as this obviously leads to an increased width of the housing of the player, this solution is in conflict with the requirement that the player should be as compact as possible.